The Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme, often known as Clare’s Law, was rolled out across England and Wales on 8th March 2014. It is designed to provide victims with information that may protect them from an abusive situation before it ends in tragedy. The scheme allows the police to disclose information about a partner’s previous history of domestic violence or violent acts.

If you have reached the decision your marriage is at an end and are looking at commencing divorce proceedings, this can appear to be a stressful and confusing task. However, submitting a Divorce Petition should not be a daunting process.

The Intellectual Property Office will usually send the owner of a registered trade mark a letter giving notice that an application has been received for the registration of a similar trade mark. This is usually the first they will have heard of the competitor.

Often a pension can be a valuable asset to take into account, particularly when one spouse is contributing a lot more into their pension fund. Irrespective of who the pension belongs to, it is still a marital asset and will be treated as any other asset would be, and it must be considered in divorce proceedings.

We are often asked if businesses need to ask their existing contacts to opt-in to receive marketing communications again once the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into force in May 2018. This an important decision, the consequences for getting it wrong can include reputational damage and significant fines by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

A Non-Molestation Order can be applied to put a stop to domestic abuse to help protect you and to ensure the safety and wellbeing and health of you and your children. Domestic abuse can include the following:

The term ‘divorce costs’ can be unclear and, to the person being asked to pay those costs, it can be confusing.

Since the early 1970’s the Courts have been required to take into account the value of any pension held by both parties to a divorce in determining their financial settlement. However, before the introduction of pension sharing, it was not possible to transfer either the value of the pension benefit or the benefits themselves from the scheme member who owned the benefits to another person.

Has the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (CRA), which replaces the Sale of Goods Act 1979 (SGA) from October 2015, put buyers in a better position to reject a horse after purchase? 

A company’s articles of association (“Articles”) set out provisions relating to a company’s constitution (for example the rights attaching to a company’s share capital and rules relating to meetings). The Articles are a public document and are available for inspection at Companies House.

Sometimes there are problems with the will itself and sometimes people are unhappy with the contents of the will.

When considering applications for development in the green belt, local planning authorities are meant to ensure that substantial weight is given when considering potential harm to the green belt. Paragraph 79. of the National Planning Policy Framework states that one of the essential characteristics of green belts is their openness, and one of the key issues is the impact of any development on the openness of the green belt. The issue which the courts have grappled with frequently is the relevance of the visual impact of development on an assessment of openness. The issues are illustrated by a couple of recent decisions.